


a closure thing

by transbuck



Category: 9-1-1 (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Family Fluff, M/M, buck has his own place (surprising. i know)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-02-27
Packaged: 2019-09-18 12:46:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,152
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16995258
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/transbuck/pseuds/transbuck
Summary: Buck misses Pennsylvania, but there's no way in hell he's braving his hometown alone this winter. So, his boyfriend and his boyfriend's son offer to come with.





	1. one

"You're going to Hershey for a _vacation_?" Maddie asks as soon as Buck opens his door for her. She holds her phone up, gesturing toward the cryptic text message Buck sent her that she has opened up on screen.

"'Hey, Buck, how are you?' I'm good, Mads, how are you?" Buck replies, rolling his eyes as he steps aside to let Maddie inside.

"Buck, this is serious," Maddie says, brushing right past Buck and into his living room.  She immediately makes herself comfortable on his couch. "I thought you said you were never going back to Pennsylvania again?"

"I- I did say that, yeah," Buck replies, closing the front door and rushing to sit next to Maddie.

"What changed?" Maddie asks gently.

"I don't know," Buck huffs, running his hands over his face. "I guess it's like a, uh... What's the word?"

"A closure thing?" Maddie suggests.

"I- Something like that, yeah," Buck says, looking a little uncertain. Maddie seems to pick up on that, putting a hand on his arm gently. "I don't even know why I want closure or whatever now, after all this time away. I don't know. I just need your older sister wisdom right now."

"Buck, I don't know what you want me to tell you," Maddie says, and the sweet gentleness of her voice makes Buck tear up just a little bit. "I know how miserable you were out there, and that makes me a little hesitant to be okay with you going out there. But if you really feel like you're ready to go back, then I fully support you." Maddie makes a strange sort of face when she finishes speaking. Almost as if she wants to continue. It makes Buck's stomach turn.

"Why do I feel like there's going to be a 'but'?" Buck asks uneasily. Maddie frowns sympathetically, moving her hands to take both of Buck's.

" _But_ ," she continues, "I don't think you should go alone. And you and I both know that I'm not ready to go back there." Buck frowns at that. There's only one other person in his life who he could really bring with him, and he really does _not_ want to bring him to into the mess that is his past.

"If you don't want me to go alone, and you're not gonna come with me, who the hell do you want me to bring?" Buck asks hesitantly.

"You have a boyfriend, Buck," Maddie replies matter-of-factly. Buck groans. "A very sweet and supportive boyfriend who would gladly be by your side while you go to Pennsylvania."

"Mads, no. There's no way in hell I'm bringing him into all that mess," Buck replies, frowning deeply. "Besides, I don't... If I brought him, he'd probably want to know _why_ I haven't been back in so long, and I... I don't think I'm ready to open up to him about all that." Maddie stays silent, observing Buck. After a while, the silence becomes unbearable, and just as Buck's about to say something, what, he isn't sure, she pulls him into a tight hug. He's surprised when his vision starts blurring as he brings his arms up to hold her tight.

"That boy loves you, Buck," Maddie whispers. "He's so madly in love with you. No matter how much, or how little, you tell him about why you wanted to leave, he's still going to love you. Just like I do." Buck sniffles and pulls her just a little bit closer.

"I love you, Mads," Buck mumbles.

"Love you, too, Buckaroo," Maddie replies, pulling away from the hug slowly. "Now, how about we watch some trashy movies to make you feel better?" Buck smiles and nods. Maddie always knows exactly how to make him feel better.

 

***

 

The next morning, Buck is so focused on searching up flights to Hershey on his phone that he doesn't notice when Eddie enters the room. He jumps in his seat on the couch when Eddie kisses his cheek and sits next to him. "Hey, babe," Eddie says sweetly, throwing an arm around Buck's shoulders. "What're you so focused on?"

"Hey! Uh, nothing," Buck replies quickly, trying to guard his phone from Eddie. Eddie looks unimpressed.

"Yeah 'cause that isn't suspicious at all," Eddie says, rolling his eyes. Buck's about to come up with some sort of excuse when Eddie up and grabs his phone. 

"Hey!" Buck shouts trying to snatch his phone out of Eddie's hands, who holds it just out of reach as he reads what's on the screen. 

"Hershey, Pennsylvania? What's in Hershey?" Eddie asks, brows furrowed as he rereads the page on Buck's phone.

" _Nothing_ ," Buck hisses, practically climbing over Eddie to snatch his phone back. As soon as it's back in his hands, he quickly locks it and shoves it in his pocket. He looks at anything that isn't the man on the couch next to him.

Eddie stays quiet for a while, and Buck can feel how heavy his gaze is. "Hey," he says quietly, gently touching Buck's shoulder. "I'm sorry for upsetting you." Buck sniffles a little, desperately fighting back tears. He would be beyond embarrassed if he started crying at work. "What's wrong? You know you can tell me anything."

Buck lets out a long sigh, leans over to rest his head on Eddie's shoulder. Eddie easily throws his arm around Buck. "You asked what's in Hershey," he starts quietly, uncertain. "Well, I'm _from_ Hershey. And I'm, uh. I'm planning on going back for a little while."

"Why?" Eddie asks gently, rubbing Buck's upper arm comfortingly. The sweetness of it makes Buck want to puke.

"It's a, uh, it's a closure thing. I guess," Buck replies, fidgeting in his seat. He can feel Eddie staring at him, and the fact that he's not saying anything makes him want to scream.

"Well, then get three plane tickets," Eddie says finally.

Buck sits up fully, looks up at Eddie quickly, wide-eyed. "What do you mean? Why?"

"Because me and Christopher are gonna come with you," Eddie says like it's the most obvious thing in the world.

"You really don't have to so that," Buck replies frantically. The thought of dragging his boyfriend and his boyfriend's kid to his hometown for their first vacation together makes him want to puke.

"I know I don't _have_ to, but I _want_ to," Eddie replies, pressing a gentle kiss to his forehead. "Maybe it's about time I meet the parents, eh?"

Buck's stomach drops a little at that. He forces a quick smile onto his face. "Yeah, maybe," he says tightly.

"When are we going?" Eddie asks, and Buck is grateful that he doesn't seem to realize how sick he suddenly feels.

"Um, next week? And I-  _we'll_ be staying for about a week," Buck replies, tapping his hands on his thighs.

"Sounds fun! I can't wait to see where you grew up, babe," Eddie responds, smiling broadly. He kisses Buck's forehead, stands up, and walks away.

As Eddie walks away, Buck can't help but worry about this coming trip.


	2. two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> No more than one week after Eddie offered to go to Hershey with Buck, they're finally getting ready to leave for the airport.
> 
> "You sure we have everything we need packed?" Buck asks after Eddie brings Christopher's suitcase to the living room. It's so early in the morning that they decided to let Christopher sleep in a little bit more while they get everything ready to leave.
> 
> "Positive," Eddie replies with a bright smile. He must pick up on the fact that it does nothing to ease Buck's nerves, because his face turns a bit more sincere and he rests a gentle hand on Buck's forearm. "Hey," he murmurs. "It's gonna be okay. You've got nothing to worry about, okay? We're completely prepared. We have everything planned perfectly. There's absolutely nothing to worry about."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the very long awaited chapter two!! i hope this is well worth the wait, lovelies ♥ im thinking that chapter three shouldnt take as long for me to update because i've got a whole lot of grand plans for it

No more than one week after Eddie offered to go to Hershey with Buck, they're finally getting ready to leave for the airport.

"You sure we have everything we need packed?" Buck asks after Eddie brings Christopher's suitcase to the living room. It's so early in the morning that they decided to let Christopher sleep in a little bit more while they get everything ready to leave.

"Positive," Eddie replies with a bright smile. He must pick up on the fact that it does nothing to ease Buck's nerves, because his face turns a bit more sincere and he rests a gentle hand on Buck's forearm. "Hey," he murmurs. "It's gonna be okay. You've got nothing to worry about, okay? We're completely prepared. We have everything planned perfectly. There's absolutely nothing to worry about."

Buck frowns. He's tempted to tell Eddie that there is actually a  _lot_ to worry about, but he's sure that if he did that, Eddie would ask him what he means by that, and he's not ready to talk about all of it. Not yet, at least. So instead, he just says, "Are you sure you've got enough warm stuff to wear while we're there? It gets  _really_ cold this time of year."

"I'll be  _fine_ , babe," Eddie responds with a laugh. "Besides," he continues, pulling Buck into his arms, "I've got my own personal space heater to keep me warm."

"Okay, okay. Don't say I didn't warn you, though," Buck replies, finally managing to smile a little.

"Mm, there's that pretty smile that I love so much," Eddie says, and when he places a hand on Buck's cheek, Buck can't help the blush on his face. "I'm gonna go wake Christopher up, and as soon as he's ready, we can head out." Eddie smiles, gently pats Buck's cheek, and presses a gentle kiss to Buck's lips before heading off toward Christopher's room.

Buck sighs and plops down on the couch. To distract himself from his returning nerves, he decides to pull his phone out of his pocket and text Maddie.

Buck: We're leaving soon  
Maddie: Good luck! I'm sending you all of my love!  
Maddie: I'm so proud of you, by the way. Love you!  
Buck: Thanks, Mads. Love you, too  
Buck: :)

Buck slides his phone back into his pocket, feeling a bit more at ease. When he looks up, he sees Eddie return to the living room and plop down on the couch next to him. He easily slings an arm around Eddie's shoulders.

"He's up and at 'em," Eddie murmurs, leaning into Buck's shoulder a bit. "Should be ready soon. Then we can head out."

Buck takes a deep, shaky breath to try and calm his rapidly growing nerves. The fact that they'll be in his hometown by noon makes him feel incredibly anxious. After a while of nearly panicking, he finally realizes that he hasn't made any sort of response for a while. "Awesome," he finally says, winces when his voice cracks a little.

He feels Eddie lift himself off of his shoulder, and when he glances over, Eddie's giving him an odd, scrutinizing look. Just as Eddie opens his mouth to say something, Christopher walks out into the room, sleepily rubbing his eyes. Eddie stares at Buck for another moment before standing up and walking over to Christopher. "Morning, sleepyhead. You ready to head out?" he asks, lifting Christopher up into his arms. He nods into Eddie's shoulder. "Hey, hon, you mind bringing our suitcases out to the car?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah, I'll be right out," Buck says, standing up off of the couch. He watches as Eddie carries Christopher out the front door for a moment before taking another deep breath. "You got this, Buck. Everything's gonna be  _fine_ ," he mumbles to himself before lifting their suitcases and following Eddie out the door. He locks the front door and trudges over to the car, where Eddie's buckling Christopher into his car seat. Eddie looks up when Buck approaches, gives him a small smile. Buck does his best to return it as he places their suitcases in the back of Eddie's truck.

Once he looks back up, he notices that Eddie has made his way over to his side. "You ready to go?" he asks, throwing his arms around Buck's shoulders. Buck places his hands carefully on Eddie's hips, nods after a moment's hesitation, and Eddie leans forward to press a sweet kiss to his lips. "We're gonna have so much fun. Me and Chris haven't been able to go on any family vacations before, so I'm glad our first one is with you."

Buck's cheeks flush a little as he ducks his head. "Yeah?"

"Yeah. It's been all he's been able to talk about since I told him," Eddie says with a grin. "Once we get there, I'm sure he's gonna be bouncing off the walls."

Buck grins, albeit a little uneasily. "I'm glad," he murmurs. "I've been really excited, too," he says, totally ignoring the amount of times he's been on the verge of a mental breakdown because he thought about potentially opening up to Eddie about his phenomenally terrible childhood.

"Can't wait to meet your parents," Eddie replies, pressing another kiss to Buck's lips before making his way over to the driver's seat of his truck and getting in. Buck's stomach drops a little at the thought of running into his parents this week, and he takes a moment to calm himself down before making his way over to the passenger's seat of Eddie's truck and hopping in.

The drive to the airport is quiet, save for the low volume music that's playing from the radio. It's so quiet, in fact, that if Buck were less stressed out, he could probably up and fall asleep. Alas, his nerves are practically eating him alive, so he sits there, willing his hands to not shake as much as they are. At some point, Eddie blindly and wordlessly reaches over and grabs Buck's hand, intertwining their fingers together. The action helps Buck calm down a little, feeling comforted with the gentle reminder that he's not doing this alone.

When they finally make it to the airport, Buck starts to feel a little queasy. He squeezes Eddie's hand a little in his panic, and Eddie responds by gently rubbing his hand with his thumb. The action doesn't do much to make Buck feel better, but it certainly helps.

After Eddie parks the car in the airport parking lot and unbuckles his seat belt, he turns in his seat to face Buck. "What time does our flight leave?" he asks quietly, holding Buck's hand with both hands now.

"Um, about 6:30," Buck replies, brings his other hand up to grab one of Eddie's hands. "So I guess we'll be waiting a little under half an hour, after we go through security and stuff."

"Sounds good," Eddie says, bringing Buck's hands up to his mouth to press gentle kisses to his knuckles. The action makes Buck's cheeks flush a little. "I'm gonna go get Chris, you mind carrying the suitcases in?"

"Nah, I don't mind," Buck says, reluctantly letting go of Eddie's hands when he starts to slip away. "Wait." Eddie pauses his opening the car door, looks back over at Buck with a questioning look. Buck leans forward, presses a gentle kiss to Eddie's lips, mostly just to calm himself down a little. "Love you."

"Love you, too," Eddie replies with a broad grin before stepping out of the car and making his way to Christopher's seat.

Buck takes a deep breath before hopping out of the truck and making his way to the back of it. He pulls their suitcases out of the back just as Eddie's pulled Christopher out of the truck. After Eddie's shut the door and locked it, he makes his way to Buck's side, presses a quick kiss to his cheek. "We ready to go?" Buck asks.

"Let's do this thing," Eddie confirms, gently bumps Buck's shoulder with his before making his way toward the airport building with Buck at his side.

After checking their bags in and going through security, all three of them get settled in a few chairs near their gate. Christopher's curled up on one side of Eddie, fast asleep with his head in Eddie's lap, and Buck's sitting on Eddie's opposite side, holding his hand with both of his own hands. Eddie's got one hand stroking Christopher's hair and the thumb of his other hand gently stroking Buck's hand. The action helps calm Buck down somewhat, but his hands are still shaking relentlessly.

At some point, the shaking gets so bad, so obvious, that Eddie can see and feel it. "Hey, honey," he says quietly, bringing Buck out of his panicky thoughts. "You're shaking."

"Thanks, Captain Obvious," Buck mumbles, glancing away from Eddie.

"Excuse me?"

Buck frowns, looks back over at Eddie. "'M sorry, babe. I'm just..."

"Stressed?" Eddie supplies, furrowing his brows with his concern over Buck.

"Yeah, that's one word for it," Buck replies.

"It's gonna be okay," Eddie says sweetly. "Me and Christopher are gonna be with you the whole time. I promise. You've got nothing to worry about."

Buck thinks that he's actually got quite a lot to worry about, but he knows that if he voiced that thought out loud, then Eddie would ask what he means, and Buck's still not ready to open up about all that. "Okay. Thank you," he says instead, looks down at their joined hands for a moment before leaning forward and pressing a gentle, lingering kiss to Eddie's lips.

Eddie lets go of Buck's hands, reaches up to gently hold Buck's face in place as he presses their foreheads together. "I love you, honey."

"I love you, too," Buck mumbles, lets his eyes flutter shut. He brings both hands up to gently cup Eddie's cheeks, thumbs stroking his face gently. "I don't think I've really thanked you for going on this trip with me. So, uh, thank you. I don't think I would've been able to do this alone."

"Of course," Eddie murmurs. "I'm really excited to see where you grew up. Do you think we'll be able to see your parents?"

Buck's stomach drops a little at the thought of Eddie meeting his parents. "Um, probably not," Buck says after a brief pause. "I'd like this week to be just about us, y'know?"

Eddie hums a little, and just as he's about to say something else, there's an announcement over the loudspeakers about their flight beginning boarding. Eddie pulls away from Buck, turning to look down at Christopher. "Hey, bud, it's time to wake up," he says, gently nudging Christopher awake.

Christopher yawns and sits up, rubbing at his eyes. "Is it time to go?" he asks.

"Yes, sir," Eddie replies, ruffling Christopher's hair a little bit. "You ready, kiddo?" Christopher nods, and Eddie stands and carefully lifts him up. Buck stands up after them, follows closely behind as Eddie makes his way to the entrance to the plane.

Once they're settled in in their seats on the plane with their seat belts on, Eddie in between Christopher and Buck, Eddie wordlessly grabs Buck hand, intertwining their fingers and squeezing gently. "You ready for this?" Eddie asks quietly.

Buck sighs, wearily rests his head on Eddie's shoulder. Although his nerves were only getting worse the closer they were to takeoff, Eddie holding his hand so tightly is certainly helping ground him somewhat. "Ready as I'll ever be."

Eddie hums a little, brings their joined hands up to press the gentlest of kisses to his knuckles. Soon enough, their plane begins its departure. Buck has to take a deep breath to keep his stress at bay. It's okay, he thinks to himself. Eddie's not going anywhere.


End file.
